What is the situation like where you are in Eastern Ukraine?
‘We are in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region. On Tuesday we accompanied someone who is evacuating civilians and distributing relief supplies for a Christian NGO. Because of his religion, he doesn’t want to fight, but he still wants to contribute to the fight. He has a list of addresses of people who want to leave and goes around in a minibus trying to pick them up. He has done that every day since the invasion began, except for Saturdays and Sundays.
‘We drove with him to the town of Siversk, about four kilometers from the front line. In various places he has delivered goods, such as medicines and food. He honks, and then people come out, if they think it safe. They live there in cellars and are without electricity, gas, water from the tap or medicines. That’s why they cook on an open fire. The situation is desperate.
‘The bombings in this place have decreased in recent days, last week there were many more. You can see the damage. Many people have left, there is a nasty atmosphere because of the emptiness. We drove very fast so as not to stay here long, because of the danger of bombing. You can hear the explosions in the distance.’
About an hour after the call, Daniel sends a WhatsApp message: “I just saw that the place we were today was bombed two hours ago.”
What kind of people are left behind?
‘Our impression was that it is mainly people who are very poor or poorly educated. There are also many old and disabled people left behind. The vast majority were grateful for the help, but we have also seen people blaming the Ukrainian military for their situation. Whether they started to think pro-Russian through Russian propaganda, I don’t know.
‘There are also children. I can tell you that as someone who has small children of their own, I can cry when I see their situation, how happy they are that someone comes over and gives them some candies. The war has been going on since 2014, they have felt a threat all their lives, which has now become many times worse.’
How do you keep yourself safe?
‘Two days ago we had the opportunity to visit another village with an NGO. We then decided not to go, because snipers are also active there. That was a step too far for us. Tom (Vennink, correspondent for de Volkskranted.), our fixer and I always try to discuss as a team what we are and are not prepared to do and how safe we estimate the situation.’
‘With apps you can see where the front is and where bombings have taken place. We watch the briefings of the Ukrainian army and keep an eye on news sources. And our fixer and Tom have resources of their own. All in all, this produces a picture, on the basis of which we make estimates.
“Today we had a lot of confidence in the people we were riding with. He has been doing his job for almost four months, he knows his way around well, and he also has contacts with the Ukrainian army. That is also a decision you have to make: do you trust someone?’
What is it like to shoot under these conditions?
‘Normally we approach people calmly, politely asking if everyone is okay with being photographed. That was different now, because we only stayed in one place for a few minutes, which made the work quite hectic: I jumped off the bus, and had two, three minutes to shoot. Everyone was also happy to be photographed. They don’t really care, because they have other things on their minds.’
Are you still subject to restrictions as a journalist there in eastern Ukraine?
“No, except for our safety. If we had wanted, we could have stayed in Siversk for a weekend. Only access to everything related to the Ukrainian army has been severely curtailed since the beginning of this month. The plan was to go with ambulances to collect the wounded from the front, but that was not possible, for this now a special accreditation is required.
The explanation is that the rule was introduced to ensure that the military can do its job properly. My impression is that the battle is concentrated in such a small area in the Donbas that the entire world press gathers there. It seems that the Ukrainian government wants to shield the army a bit from too much attention from journalists.’